7. Law of the Pain Song Festival

Jaehwan was conflicted.

No, he was beyond conflicted. He was… what was he? He can’t even describe it himself. There are no words.

It was taking all of his self-restrain not to head down to the stage and drag her backstage. It was taking all of his willpower not to scream and yell and tell her to hell with all her responsibilities. It was taking all his logic and rational thinking from his brain to tell his heart not to break.

Taekwoon could probably feel all the energy radiating out from his dongsaeng; he casually placed his hand on Jaehwan’s shoulder, as if to warn him not to do anything rash.

But Jaehwan could not tear his eyes away from Eunji, despite the turmoil that was raging in him.

He never felt so useless and helpless.

She was in pain, and there was not one damn thing he could do about it.

-----

Jaehwan was packing up his things when Eunji called him from Hanoi. He had been waiting for Hyuk to finish recording his parts for their comeback so that they could go for dinner after that. It was just the two of them scheduled to record in the studio that day; Hongbin and Hakyeon were out filming while Taekwoon and Wonshik had a break in their schedule, although Jaehwan was pretty sure he could find Wonshik in his studio working on their new music. That guy runs on almost no sleep when he is struck by inspiration – something that happens pretty often too.

Jaehwan was glad for the one-on-one time with Hyuk though; he had been so busy with his musical recently that he hadn’t got the chance to catch up with most of s. He was glad that he was able to help Hyuk with his parts, and he got to admit that Hyuk work really hard and had improved tremendously.

“Okay hyung, I’m done!” Hyuk bounded out of the studio with his huge grin and bright eyes, which immediately faded when he noticed Jaehwan frowning at his phone. “Is everything okay?”

Jaehwan gestured to Hyuk to wait while he slipped into one of the practice rooms. “Yobeseyo?”

“Annyeong oppa, Eunji here.” There was a slight pause. “Just wanted to tell you that I’m currently in a hospital. But don’t worry,” she rushed.

“Why? What happened?” Jaehwan’s look of worry was clear on his face.

“I might have hurt my back during practice earlier. I’m not too sure, so I’m getting it checked out.”

“Oh. How are you feeling? Is it very painful?”

“I took painkillers earlier so it felt better. But I think the effect is wearing out.” Eunji gave a nervous laughter.

“Oh Eunji…” Jaehwan sighed. Then something clicked in him. “Didn’t you have a performance today?”

There was a slight pause. “Yeah, it’s the first night.”

“And you hurt your back during practice?”

“Yes…”

“Which was before the performance?”

Another pause. “Yes…”

“And you still went ahead to perform? With your pain?”

There was silence on the line.

“Eunji…” Jaehwan groaned. He knew she had a pre-existing back condition that acted up when she pushed too hard.

“The organizers flew us in to give a performance, I can’t just sit it out!”

“Organizers get paid…”

“Through ticket sales that the fans have bought. How can I sit out when they have been so expectant of our performance? This is not Korea where they can catch us performing every other week.”

“I know, but –“

“I’m fine,” she responded.

Jaehwan blew out a breath. There was no use arguing when stubborn Eunji reared its head, but inside Jaehwan was simmering. “Okay then. Let me know what the doctor says?”

“Okay.” She hung up.

Jaehwan sighed in frustration. He loved Eunji and how passionate she was about her work and her love for her fans, but sometimes he just wanted to strangle her. She always placed her music, her work, her fans, her group, basically everything… before herself and it drove Jaehwan crazy. He took a deep breath and came out of the room.

“Everything okay?” Hyuk was concerned.

Jaehwan shrugged, trying to keep his cool. “Eunji hurt her back so she’s in a hospital getting it checked. She said not to worry though.”

“Oh. Is it serious?”

“Not sure yet,” Jaehwan sighed. “She is in Hanoi though, not here.”

“Oh.” There was a pause. “I’m sure she’ll be okay,” Hyuk said, try to assure Jaehwan. “Eunji-noona is like one of the toughest girls I know.”

“Yup.”

“So… do you still want to go for dinner?”

Jaehwan smiled at Hyuk. “Of course, why not? There’s not much that I can do here right now anyway.”

“Alright. Cheer up, hyung!” Hyuk told Jaehwan, slinging his arm around his shoulder. “I might even treat you tonight.”

Jaehwan grinned. “Then I’m definitely going for dinner.”

-----

Doctors say that it’s a minor sprain, she texted him later that night. Or rather, morning – it was already past midnight.

So are you still continuing to perform the other nights? He asked.

There was a delay in her response.

Maybe, she replied.

Jaehwan wanted to scream.

-----

He found out that she eventually sat out for the rest of Apink’s performances, and that helped to cool off his anger and frustration slightly. They did not communicate after that however, and while Jaehwan was upset, he was also too proud to be the first to break the ice. He did not do anything wrong – he was just concerned about her health. To him, his anger was justified.

“Oh hyung, I just read that Eunji injured herself, is she okay?”

VIXX were having breakfast together before heading for their schedules, and Jaehwan had just taken a spoonful of his cereal when Hongbin asked him the question.

Jaehwan swallowed. “Yeah, doctors said that it was just a minor sprain.”

“She’s away now, isn’t she? The Music Bank thing in Hanoi?” Hakyeon asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, then wouldn’t that have affected being part…” Hongbin trailed off upon seeing Hyuk shaking his head vigourously behind Jaehwan to signal him. “Never mind,” he dismissed it quickly.

Hakyeon, who was sitting beside Jaehwan and did not see Hyuk, frowned. “She’s scheduled to go for Jungle soon right? Is she still going – Ouch!” Hakyeon turned to glare at Hyuk who had poked him at his ribs – hard.

“I don’t know,” Jaehwan stood up abruptly, ignoring all of them. “She says she is fine, so she is fine. That was the end of the discussion.” Jaehwan took his empty bowl and placed it in the sink. “I’m going to get ready; I’ll wash it later.”

The rest of the members looked at each other in silence as Jaehwan made his way out of the kitchen to his room. Jaehwan hardly ever got angry – his easy-going nature helped him to brush things off and let go easily. For him to stay angry about something meant that it must be really important.

“Is he not feeling well?” Wonshik asked no one in particular.

Hyuk groaned. “I forgot to warn you guys about this! He got a call from Eunji-noona two days ago telling him about her injury. And I’m not sure what happened, but after that Jaehwan-hyung seemed quite upset and well, pissed.” Hyuk shrugged. “I don’t know the contents of their phone conversation,” he clarified before Hakyeon could ask.

Hongbin stuck out his bottom lip, nodding. “I’m guessing Jaehwan-hyung must be angry that she is still performing and everything despite the injury then. The tweet that I read said that she was clutching her back quite a bit during the performance.”

Hyuk shrugged again. “It must be it. We went for dinner that night and I even offered to treat him but he hardly even ate anything! And we all know how much he likes to eat.”

The group lapsed into silence for a while before Hakyeon spoke. “Do you think I should text Chorong to find out more? About Eunji and her condition, I mean, so that we can see how to help Jaehwan?”

Wonshik frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea… I mean, couples fight and disagree, right? Shouldn’t we let them settle it on their own?”

The members looked at each other for a bit, and Hyuk chuckled. “Don’t look at me, I have zero experience with girls.”

“I agree with you Wonshik,” Hongbin nodded. “Maybe we should just give him the space? I’m sure Jaehwan-hyung will be fine after a while.”

“Okay then, let’s do that,” Hakyeon concluded decisively after a pause. “But can we all just keep an eye out for him? Just in case,” he added, looking around at the rest of the members, who all nodded their assent. His eye fell on Taekwoon, who had not spoken a word so far. “Taekwoonie?”

Taekwoon looked up and nodded. “I’ll watch him when we have our schedule together,” he promised.

-----

Jaehwan wanted nothing more than to head straight to Eunji’s dressing room after the cameras we cut and the festival ended. However, Taekwoon casually slung an arm around his shoulder, and firmly led him away from her dressing room to their own.

“Hyung?” Jaehwan asked, not understanding.

Their shared dressing room was filled with people walking in and out, packing up. Taekwoon led Jaehwan to the corner where their bags were, and started to pack his things as well.

“You shouldn’t go there now,” he murmured to Jaehwan, who despite his not understanding trusted his hyung enough to mirror his actions of packing. Taekwoon glanced at Jaehwan and continued softly. “Think about it, there will be lots of people in there giving their best wishes, not to mention the stylists and her managers as well. There’s no privacy.”

Jaehwan considered it for a moment, before shaking his head slightly. “But I need to see her,” he whispered. “We have not spoken for 4 days.” Jaehwan glanced up, saw Taekwoon’s disbelieving face, and sighed. “It’s my fault, really. But that is why I need to speak with her.”

Taekwoon shook his head. “It’s too risky…”

“Hyung, please…” Jaehwan pleaded. “If you come along it won’t be that obvious. And you can help keep a look out.” He paused. “Besides, won’t it be obvious if we don’t go when everyone else went?”

There was truth to Jaehwan’s words, and Taekwoon knew it. He closed his eyes briefly and took a breath. Forgive me Hakyeon if this blows up in our faces, he prayed silently.

He turned to Jaehwan, who was all packed and looking at him with his puppy dog eyes. Taekwoon sighed.

“Okay, let’s go together.”

-----

Eunji was worn out.

She did not expect that she would break down during the performance – she was the one in Apink that hardly cried! – but the combination of the emotional intensity of the song and ache in her back was just too much to handle. Plus, the fact that Jaehwan was watching her from among the panel of judges, and she was very well aware of the tension that had been going on between them for the past few days.

She missed him, but was too proud to make the first move to break the ice.

Eunji felt the most sorry towards Hye-Seon, her duet partner. They were doing so well in the previous two weeks, and so she felt responsible for the low score they got this week. To top it off, it was the last week of the festival. What a way to leave a lasting impression.

“Unnie, please don’t apologize or blame yourself. I had the best of time singing together with you!” Hye-Seon was the sweetest; she kept assuring Eunji while in their dressing room backstage after the filming was done. Eunji could only smile and nod, not trusting herself to speak.

The other contestants and judges flocked into their dressing room to give their well wishes and praises, and Eunji was grateful for the assurance and encouragement. She was talking to some of the other contestants and taking pictures with them when she saw them walk in.

Of course, they were stopped by some of the other contestants to take photos and for their signatures. But when Jaehwan’s eyes caught hers and gave her a tentative smile, her heart quickened as relief washed all over her.

Formal greetings and pleasantries were exchanged when they came to join in the conversation, but Eunji could hardly concentrate. She could feel his concerned eyes sweeping her over and over as he stood opposite, a smile plastered on his face.

Okay? He mouthed the question when she finally met his eyes.

She gave a slight nod and smile. Don’t worry, her eyes communicated, before glancing away to Taekwoon, who was speaking at that moment.

I love you, he mouthed, when she finally dared to look back at him.

Eunji bit her lip and blushed, looking down quickly. Her heart melted as she felt her eyes prick with tears. Get a grip Eunji, she chided herself. She drew a breath and plastered a smile.

He gave her his lopsided smile, and in that instanct she knew that he knew. There was no need for words.

All was forgiven.

-----

AN: I know that the chronology is wrong!! *covers face with hands and runs to hide* But for the sake of the story and flow, let's just overlook the real sequences of events and pretend that this happened in April after Jaehwan's birthday and not in late March, ok? Many thanks ^^